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2023 The Stained Glass Museum, Otaru Art Village, Hokkaido

(All photographs taken in 2023/09/29, with Nikon Z6/Nikkor 24-70 mm Zoom)

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Layout of buildings in Otaru Art Village

Names of buildings added to the illustration in: https://www.nitorihd.co.jp/otaru-art-base/about/

The Stained Glass Museum, Otaru

  ①

God and the Glory of Great Britain. From the left: St. Andrews (Scotland), St. Patrick (Ireland), St. George (England), St. Nicholous & Jeanne d'Arc (France), St. David (Wales). Right is the enlarged left-bottom corner of the far left window. The original church and workshop unknown.

②

The Last Supper, by Alan Ballantine & Gardiner, ca. 1901,

218h × 49.0w x 5 cm.

③

The Good Shepherd, ca. 1894.

④

The Sower, Late 19th c. - Early 20th c. On the right panel is the scene of reaping by angels.

  ⑤

The Canterbury Tales. Early 20th Century. Under the eaves of the second right timber house hung a signboard of The Tabard, an inn for Canterbury tours, opened in 1307 at Southwark on the south bank of the Thames (Enlarged at the Right-hand side figure).

House of Western Art, Otaru

⑥

The Expulsion from the Paradise, by John Hardman, ca.1900. ca.67h x 60w cm.

⑦

Landscape with flowers and birds,  ca. 1898-1900. A pioneering work of Art Nouveau.

⑧

Water Lilies and Iris, Jacques Grubert, ca. 1905-1910. Grubert was a distinguished Art Nouveau artist.

The Former Mitsui Bank - Otaru Branch

⑨

Window of the Four Gospels, by Louis Comfort Tiffany, year unknown. From left to right, the symbols depicted are Matthew (man), Mark (lion), Luke (ox), and John (eagle).

➉

From left to right: Infant, Come Home!, Angel Blowing the Trumpet, and The Light of the World - Christ Knocking at the Door, by Louis Comfort Tiffany, ca. 1900-1905.

2022 The parable of “The Sower” in the Gospel  

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Paintings by Jean Francois Millet (1814 - 1875)

(1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)

(1) Le semeur (The sower) 1850, o/c 48 x 59 cm [1].

(2) Le semeur (The sower) 1850, o/c, 99.7 x 80.0 cm. Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art

(3) Le semeur (The sower), c.1865

Pastel and Conté crayon on beige paper, mounted on wood-pulp board, 47 × 37.5 cm. Clark Art Institute,

(4) Le semeur (The sower), 1865. Pastel and crayon on papier, 43.5 x 53.5 cm. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

(5) Le semeur (The sower), 1851. Lithograph on paper, 27,3 x 20,5 cm. Kroller-Muller Museum

Paintings by Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890)

(1)  (2)  (3)  (4)

(1) Zaaier met mand (Sower with basket), September 1881. Black chalk, brown and grey wash, and heightened with white opaque watercolour on laid paper 62 x 47,3 cm. Kroller-Muller Museum

(2) Le Semeur (The Sower) 1888. o/c. 72 x 91.5 cm. Wikipedia

(3) De zaaier, c.17-28 June 1888. 64,2 x 80,3 cm, o/c. Kroller-Muller Museum

(4) De zaaier, naar Millet (The sower, after Millet), January 1890. 64 x 55 cm, o/c. Kroller-Muller Museum

Paintings by Marten van Valckenborch (1535-1612)

Parable of the Sower. o/c, 1580s. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Wikipedia commons.

Stained Glass in the Canterbury Cathedral

Sower on stony ground, Poor Mans Bible window, 13th century stained glass, north choir aisle, Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, England, Great Britain [2]

Engravings

(1)  (2)  (3)  (4)

(1) The parable of the sower; Christ and the apostles standing at left; at right a farmer sowing in a field with birds eating the seeds. Woodcut by:Erhard Schön (c.1491–1542), Germany. c.1525. British Museum [3].

(2) The Parable of the Sower, from The Story of Christ. Engraving by Georg Pencz (1534–35), Germany. 3.8 × 5.7 cm. Wikimedia

(3) A man scatters seeds; representing the Biblical parable of the sower; here referring to the "ministry of the word", preaching. Etching by Christoph Murer (1558-1614) after himself, 1622. Wikimedia

(4) The Sower (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ). Wood engraving by Dalziel Brothers (British, active 1839–93) after Sir John Everett Millais (1829–1896, London), 1864 [4].

Left: The Parable and the Sower (left) and The Parable of the Sower and the Weeds (right) from Das Plenarium by Hans Schaufelein (c. 1480–1540), Adam Petri German 1517. Metropolitan Museum of Art[5] .

The Sower, by Winslow Homer (1836–1910, America) 1878. Wood engraving[6].

Bronze Medal by Koutaro Takamura (1883 - 1956)

Left: The Sower (種まく人), c.1933 [7]. Right: The logo of the Iwanami Publishing, Tokyo, after the Takamura’s medal, chosen by the company’s founder Shigeo Iwanami (岩波茂雄) who came from a gentry family in Nagano Prefecture strongly believed that “work is sacred” and determined “Think high, Live low” as his company’s spirit, with reference to the William Wordsworth’s poem, below.

Written in London. September, 1802

By William Wordsworth

O Friend! I know not which way I must look

For comfort, being, as I am, opprest,

To think that now our life is only drest

For show; mean handy-work of craftsman, cook,

Or groom! — We must run glittering like a brook

In the open sunshine, or we are unblest:

The wealthiest man among us is the best:

No grandeur now in nature or in book

Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,

This is idolatry; and these we adore:

Plain living and high thinking are no more:

The homely beauty of the good old cause

Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,

And pure religion breathing household laws.

Luke Chapter 8 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
19 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.
20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.
21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:
42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.
50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.
53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.
54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

    
1 Samuel 6 (KJV)
1 And the ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.
3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.
4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords.
5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them:
8 And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go.
9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.
10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
11 And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods.
12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh.
13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord.
15 And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord.
16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one;
18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.
19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.
20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? and to whom shall he go up from us?
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the Lord; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.

The Code of Hammurabi (Harper translation), Line 241-271 [8]

241. If a man seize an ox for debt, he shall pay one-third mana of silver.

242. 243. If a man hire (an ox) for a year, he shall give to its owner four GUR of grain as the hire of a draught ox, (and) three GUR of grain as the hire of an ox (?).

244. If a man hire an ox or an ass and a lion kill it in the field, it is the owner's affair.

245. If a man hire an ox and cause its death through neglect or abuse, he shall restore an ox of equal value to the owner of the ox.

246. If a man hire an ox and he break its foot or cut its ham-string (?), he shall restore an ox of equal value to the owner of the ox.

247. If a man hire an ox and destroy its eye, he shall pay silver to the owner of the ox to the extent of one-half its value.

248. If a man hire an ox and break its horn or cut off its tail or injure the flesh (through which) the ring (passes), he shall pay silver to the owner of the ox to the extent of one-quarter its value.

249. If a man hire an ox and a god strike it and it die, the man who hired the ox shall take an oath before god and go free.

250. If a bull, when passing through the street, gore a man and bring about his death, this case has no penalty.

251. If a man's bull have been wont to gore and they have made known to him his habit of goring, and he have not protected his horns or have not tied him up, and that bull gore the son of a man and bring about his death, he shall pay one-half mana of silver.

252. If it be the servant of a man, he shall pay one-third mana of silver.

253. If a man hire a man to oversee his farm and to furnish him the seed-grain and intrust him with oxen and contract with him to cultivate the field, and that man steal either the seed or the crop and it be found in his possession, they shall cut off his fingers.

254. If he take the seed-grain and overwork the oxen, he shall restore the quantity of grain which he has hoed.

255. If he let the oxen of the man on hire, or steal the seed-grain and there be no crop in the field, they shall call that man to account and he shall measure out 60 GUR of grain per 10 GAN.

256. If he be not able to meet his obligation, they shall leave him in that field with the cattle.

257. If a man hire a field-laborer, he shall pay him 8 GUR of grain per year.

258. If a man hire a herdsman, he shall pay him 6 GUR of grain per year.

259. If a man steal a watering-machine in a field, he shall pay 5 shekels of silver to the owner of the watering-machine.

260. If a man steal a watering-bucket or a harrow, he shall pay 3 shekels of silver.

261. If a man hire a herdsman to pasture oxen or sheep, he shall pay him 8 GUR of grain per year.

262. If a man, an ox or a sheep to …

263. If he lose an ox or sheep which is given to him, he shall restore to their owner ox for ox, sheep for sheep.

264. If a shepherd, to whom oxen or sheep have been given to pasture, receive as his hire whatever was agreed upon (?) and be satisfied, and he let the cattle or sheep decrease in number, or lessen the birth rate, according to his contracts he shall make good the birth rate and the produce.

265. If a shepherd, to whom oxen or sheep have been given to pasture, have been dishonest or have altered their price, or sold them, they shall call him to account, and he shall restore to their owner oxen or sheep tenfold what he has stolen.

266. If a visitation of god happen to a fold, or a lion kill, the shepherd shall declare himself innocent before god, and the owner of the fold shall suffer the damage.

267. If a shepherd be careless and he bring about an accident in the fold, the shepherd shall make good in cattle and sheep the loss through the accident which he brought about in the fold, and give them to the owner.

268. If a man hire an ox to thresh, 20 KA of grain is its hire.

269. If he hire an ass to thresh, 10 KA of grain is its hire.

270. If he hire a young animal (goat) to thresh, 1 KA of grain is its hire.

271. If a man hire oxen, a wagon and a driver, he shall pay 180 KA of grain per day.

Seed Drills used in the 18th century in the Museum of English Rural Life, Reading University

One of the booths to show the history of agricultural machines and tools. [9]  

Illustration of inventor Jethro Tull's seed drill, an important early step in the mechanization of agriculture, UK 1901. [10]

Supplementary figures: Hand operated seed drills used in the 18th century. From the archive of Museum of English Rural Life, Reading University, UK (https://www.omnia.ie/?)    

Coloured picture of seed drils to show the details. [11]